I am being sued by the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas involving a past casino debt (case # XXXXX). The plaintiff's attorney has served me with papers for which I am expected to respond by October 11th.FYI, I have already been through the criminal process. It was set to go to trial when I was given a counter offer by the DA's office to reduce my charges from felony to a gross misdemeanor which I (reluctantly) accepted. I was ordered by the court to make monthly ($200 minimum) payments which I have been doing now for over 1.5 years. I even report to the court once every 6-months to show proof of such. Considering that I have been making monthly payments already to the Hard Rock, I would think I would have some kind of defense in this case although I do realize one is criminal and one is civil. However it appears that they are trying to take a "second bite out out of the apple" as a local lawyer friend of mine so aptly put it.My question is... is this something you can assist me with and if so (and please forgive me if I sound too direct), would you be able to assist me with anything helpful related to my case that I could not do myself? ROBERT G

i am sorry that you are in the situation that you have. It sounds like you are working through the criminal issue. Unfortunately this site is only set up to respond to questions and provide legal information. We cannot represent you in legal matters.

From what you have described, you should be able to avoid additional damages because you are already paying restitution (assuming the criminal and civil liabilities stem from the same transaction).

Since it appears you were convicted of the criminal charge related to the civil charge, defending the civil charge may be very difficult. What you need to be concerned with is that the damages (amount owed) awarded are proper. A civil suit just confirms the debt due. The result of a civil suit is only to get a judgment which creates an lawfully endorsed and enforceable obligation. A court cannot force payment, it just recognizes the debt is due.

The casino may be pursuing the civil charge only to protect itself in case you stop paying. In other words if you stop paying and serve jail time the casino would still like to get its money through the civil remedies.

After obtaining a judgment in order to get money the Plaintiff would have to go through the collection process if you stop making payments. Any payments you have already made would be credited. You may also be able to defend any collection activity based on the fact you are already making payments under a court mandated payment plan.

One word of caution keep a record of all payments. There have been situations where a payee seems to have lost its records and demands the payor prove they made the payments. By keeping canceled checks or receipts you can defeat collectors years down the road hoping to cash in on the fact you don't have records.

Thanks Jack. I am not expecting you to handle this for me but to just give me some advice as you kind of just did. Regarding my receipts... yes, of course I have them. However, it is already on record that I have been paying back the minimum monthly amount and, for that matter, I have to report every 6 months just to show that I have. That's a fact.

I understand what you said about it being difficult to defend the civil charge since I technically already admitted GUILT by accepting the DA's counteroffer. What I need is assistance in responding to the Summons as I have no idea how to do so. Since I am not trying to defend myself against the actual charge, do I not respond or what do I do?

Thanks. Your last response was actually very helpful. You mention that I have 28 days to respond, but I believe my response is due NEXT Friday on the 11th. FYI, it was actually due tomorrow but I was able to get an extension (which I have in an email from the Plaintiff's attorney) due to a death in my family this past Monday. I had previously typed out a response that I was going to file with the clerk. The response is attached. Will it suffice or I am not following certain legal protocol. Let me know if you have any suggestions?

You need to put it in the format of the sample (template) I sent you. You can then add a statement in the defenses section saying you have been paying on the obligation for 1.5 years. If you submit the document you attached, the other side will ask that it be stricken (deleted and ignored) from the record. It is better than nothing but if possible use the template.

Jack, I have attached the partially completed template that you sent me the link for. Please look it over. I wan't sure how to fill out the "Answering Paragraph's" section because on the summons, there are 36 paragraph's.

Looks good. Put the numbers of the paragraphs you agree with (admit) on the 1st paragraph entry (line 16) e.g 1-3,4,6,10,11

Put the ones you disagree (deny) with on the 2nd paragraph answering section (line 18).

Put the ones you cannot agree or deny in the third answering section (line 20).

On Line 24, if you want to make a statement about any paragraph this is where you put it. The statements should be very short not a dissertation. The court just wants to know if there is anything special about one of your responses.

You must address all 36 paragraphs, if you leave any out they are admitted by default.

Thanks, XXXXX XXXXX seen a copy of the actual summons? I only ask because I certainly do not understand each individual paragraph enough to warrant answering them correctly and was hoping you could assist me with that.

I cannot offer specify advice on your summon because that we be the practice of Law in Nevada where I am not licensed. If you do not understand the allegation, of do not know an answer, you should identify those paragraphs on line 20.

If you type in the parts you have questions about and specifically ask what the confusion is I can explain that. However, doing so is time consuming if you have a lot of paragraphs and would ask that you accept and rate again after I complete the response so I can get compensation for my time. Ina addition, I would not be able to get to it until later today.

Okay Jack, I need to know if I am supposed to respond to all the Paragraphs (1 - 36) on pages 2 - 6. If so, I am going to need them explained to me as I do not understand most of them. I realize this might be a lot of work but I will make sure you get a decent bonus if you can assist me with this. You can download the summons at https://www.dropbox.com/s/8mu79pl9ql90bi3/HRH%20Summons.pdf

I assume you are talking about the certificate of Mailing. You put the address of the opposing counsel. If there is no opposing counsel the address of the Plaintiff. For safety you can put both addresses in that box.

You can put the fact you have paid restitution in the box on line 25 of page 1. It is already somewhat covered by the check box on line 21 page 2.

Please accept my answer by rating me 3 or better so I may get credit for my response. If you have follow up questions please ask. Note you must rate the answer for me to compensated. paying the deposit alone is not sufficient for the funds to be disbursed.

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

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